Vol.1 Ch.6 - Screw it, the adventure begins!

“Yo, Grim.” Ed nudged me.“…”“Hellooo~? Is anyone there?” He asked as he knocked on my temple, actingas if it was a wooden door.“Argh! What is it?!” I shouted back at him, “Alright fine! I admit it, we gotscammed, alright?! No need to make fun of me for it!”“I wasn’t planning on it.” He retorted, “I just wanted to ask you to racearound the world with our fancy new Runic Stones that DEFINITELY workand are in no way just some random rocks.”“Ed, I swear to Prylos I’m gonna beat you up so hard you’re gonna wish youstayed home.”Yep, we got scammed out of our Snair. We sold it for a couple of ordinaryrocks which have absolutely no worth to them apart from kinda sorta lookingcool, but that’s really all there is to it. When we figured out we’ve beenbamboozled though, it was already too late, as the scamming merchant hadalready went ahead and sold the Snair to a local butcher and ran away withthe money. Dammit, why do horrible people always get away with being sohorrible?Ed’s also being annoying here. He’s this calm and meek boy who never didanything bad in his life, so where the hell is all this cheekiness coming from?Seriously, when we first met, I saw him getting picked on by the other kids,so I stepped in and promptly got both of our butts handed to us tenfold. Evenstill, we later bonded thanks to our shared Eye Color.If you recall from the previous chapters, I mentioned that Green representsthe boundless love for Novelty, so it was a given that he was quite curious,even as a wee little kid. I was even kind enough to teach him how to read andwrite the moment I learned this myself, and this is the thanks I get for all ofthat hard work? Geez, talk about ungrateful…“Hey now,” Ed went on to explain, “You’re the one who’s at fault here fornot listening to my advice.”“And you’re the one at fault for not stopping me!” I gave a weak retort.“…” He couldn’t stand to argue anymore, so he just decided to leave thematter aside, “Yeah, let’s just say I’m the idiot here then. I can’t deal withyou right now.”Hold on, this isn’t how you’re supposed to play the game. I don’t like how hegave up so easily. I was just a bit mad after getting scammed, but I neverintended to make Ed mad in the process. He’s my best friend, so I was justsort of expecting us to rally a few insults to and from each other beforelaughing it off like we usually do, but I guess this time he was serious aboutbeing angry. I need to rectify the issue at all costs!“Hold on now, I don’t like that solution. Let’s just say we’re both idiots,deal?”“…Idiot.” He chuckled as we made up.“So what now?” I asked the next and probably most important question,“With no money, no rations, and no guide to go off of, we hardly have anychances of making it far at all.”“Hmm, then I guess we have no other choice…!” He said as if he had alreadythought up a way out of this predicament.Wait, could it be…?! Is that Ed’s signature “I’ve got a plan” face?! Amazing,we’re saved! The moment this guy makes this specific kind of thinking face,where he puts his hand to his chin as if imitating a detective, only to getsidetracked and start picking his lips, that means he’s without a doubt gonnacome up with a genius idea!“Let’s just wing it.” He said with a deadpan expression.“Eh?” I furrowed my eyebrows, “Wing it? This is new, especially comingfrom you. I mean, don’t get me wrong, but aren’t you the ‘play it safe’ kind ofguy? I never would’ve expected you to come up with such an idea befitting ofsomeone like, well, me.”“Well, it’s not like things can get any worse, right? I mean, when you thinkabout it, didn’t Schnell work a ton of oddjobs to save up enough money forhis travels? We’re still underage, but we might be able to scrounge up enoughcoins if we kneel and beg for them.”“And who, pray tell, will we be begging to?”“Duh, the King of Carmen?” He said it as if it was a matter of course, “That’swho Schnell asked, only he had to travel halfway across the map just to getthere. Thankfully, Carmen is right above Trivis Numerica on the map, so forus that should be way easier.”“That’s… actually a pretty good point, now that I think about it.” I answeredwith my eyebrows raised in astonishment, “But the King won’t really give acouple of tykes the money, will he? Carmen isn’t exactly known for havinggood natured, generous people. In fact, they’re notorious for being pricks.”“Got a better idea?”“Nah, let’s go.” I said as we hopped on a transport wagon leading to thetown of Stringwood.Entering our first ever transport wagon, we were astounded by the absoluteluxury of its interior. The wagon, when looked at from the outside, looks likeyour regular everyday horse carriage, but the only main difference is that thiscarriage doesn’t use horses to get from one place to another. Neither Ed nor Iunderstood how it was actually powered if it didn’t have any beingphysically push it, so as we sat down on the velvet seats that were spreadacross the coach’s inside, we had started guessing all sorts of possibilities.“Maybe there’s a hole for the wagon driver’s legs to go through, and he’s justrunning really fast?” Ed guessed.“Dummy! You’d have to have the strength of a God to pull that off!”“That or a Runic Stone, ehe~!”“…Let’s just forget about those scammy Runic Stones, please!?” I blushedafter being reminded of my own idiocy.“Oh alright,” Ed subdued his laughter for a bit, “Then how do you think thetransport wagons are powered?”“Hmm… Maybe it has something to do with that compartment filled with allsorts of doohickeys at the front of the wagon. Y’know, the ones under thedriver’s seat?”“Oh, now that you mention it, there does appear to be some kind of steam andblack liquid coming out of it at times. You think that could be the fuel?”“Yeah, that’s the engine!” The driver suddenly yelled at us, “Now shut up,you stupid village bumpkins!”Ha, looks like we annoyed the poor driver too much. Let’s shut up for now, Idon’t want this guy to kick us out, especially after he let us hop onboardwithout having to pay a single coin.Sitting back down at our seats quietly, I had no other way to kill time apartfrom examining the transport wagon to its fullest. One thing I immediatelynoticed is that it’s extremely well-kempt. The insides are basically all red,just like the seats, but that sort of makes for a cozy feel, since the sunlightfrom the windows mixes nicely with it.Another thing worthy of note – the carpets! This transport wagon has a ton ofcarpets that look so comfy, I feel like I could fall asleep on them! They kindof smell though, but that makes sense, given the fact that there have been whoknows how many people who’ve walked all over them since before we camein. That being the case, they at least don’t have any grimes. Looks like thedriver really likes taking care of his wagon’s image.“Hey, driver?” I felt like complimenting him, “Your wagon’s really tidy. Youmust really like things clean!”“Ah, so you noticed?” He gave a tired smile, “That’s an awfully nice thing tosay, kid. I like you! Yeah, after passing our driver’s exam and becomingqualified to drive a transport wagon, each driver is given their very ownwagon to do with as they please.”Really?! That’d make our journey so much easier if Ed and I had our veryown wagon! I gotta know how to get my hands on a driver’s license!“Well, that’s not really the case, though.” He meekly corrected himself, “See,your wagon is basically like the credit you take from a bank. You’re placedon a huge debt until you pay it all off. That’s also why we drivers driveothers around for years at a time until we’re finally freed and can drivearound without a care in the world.”“Huh, so long have you been driving, sir?” Ed asked as well, “And howmany years do you have to be working for before you can, ahem, retire?”“Well, the starting debt is 1000 Gold Coins. I’ve paid out a quarter in justunder 2 years of driving, so that leaves me with…”1000 Gold Coins?! Nevermind, we don’t even have any Bronzes on us, so Idoubt we could ever pay for a wagon of our own, like, ever. That being thecase, looks like this guy’s been calculating for quite a while now, I think I’llhelp him out.“If you paid out 250 Gold Coins in about two years, then that means you stillhave another six years of driving left before you’ve paid out your whole debtin full.”“Whoa, you’re pretty good at math!” He praised me, “Even better than mostadults. You thinking of becoming a wandering teacher or something likethat?”“Wandering teacher?” I felt insulted, “That job’s no good for me! I justlearned how to count, read and write because those are the basic needs of anadventurer! Besides, a wandering teacher doesn’t even have his own spaceto work with. He goes around the country teaching kids something he alreadyknows, and for what? A couple Gold Coins a year?”“Well yeah, but they get to live, eat and sleep at their student’s house for free,no?” Ed refuted.“Whose side are you on again?”Laughing a bit more, we hadn’t even noticed that we had made it toStringwood’s gates. Before we left the wagon, though, we had approachedthe wagon driver and handed him the last of our Silver Coins, barelyamounting to the price of the fare to here.“What’s this? Didn’t I say you kids don’t have to pay me?”“Don’t worry, we don’t wanna stunt your earnings. Good luck, and we hopeyou get rid of your debt as soon as possible!”“Thanks, kiddos! Don’t ever forget the kindness you showed me today, Iknow I won’t!”***“Ahh~!” I breathed in the fresh town air as we exited the transport wagon,“We’re finally here! Our first stop on the map, the glorious and bustlingcapital of Secundis, Stringwood!”“Hold on now, Grim, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. We just gave thewagon driver the last of our money, so shouldn’t we first think about howwe’re gonna acquire food?”“Screw that!” I shut him up, “Look, Ed! The houses are so tall! Each one hasto be at least two or three stories! And the people, they’re dressed so nicely!What is that fabric!? It’s like everyone’s a lord!”Gawking at all the people wearing their luxurious dresses and suits, wecouldn’t help but notice just how fun it was to visit a new place you’ve neverbeen to before without having to constantly be tied to your parents. It waslike we were real adventurers, and with this newfound exuberance we felt itwas plausible to conquer the world!“Yeah, tell you what?” Ed smiled, “Let’s save thinking about our issues forafter we make a few tours around the city. I’ve only ever been to my Uncle’splace in Wheats a few times, but I’ve never actually visited a capital city likethis!”“Now you’re talking! Let’s race to that statue over there!”Running full speed to a distant statue that stood proudly above everythingelse next to it, we had only then realized the sheer scale of this place. Itwasn’t just the houses that were big, but the roads, the alleys, the plazas, theparks… It was all just so amazing! Not to mention when we got to the statue,we couldn’t even see its head because of how high up it was.“Whoa, who do you think that guy is?” Ed laughed, turning to me, “Oi, youcrying?”“That’s… Schnell.” I said, wiping the tears off of my eyes, “This statue isone of The Grandmaster Adventurer. He’s exactly like he described himselfin his Handbook!”“Hold on, is that really true?” He looked at the sign under the statue, “Holycrap, you’re right! Right here it says Schnell M. Douglas – Born 134AD inMeridia, Died 208AD in Schnell’s Archipelago.”“I knew that the people of Stringwood were a smart bunch!” I raised my fistshigh into the sky, “To know and appreciate such a good man, they must begood people themselves! Hey, come to think of it, I think the Handbook mymom bought me was actually printed right in this town!”“So what now? You gonna hug it or something?” Ed joked, obviouslyunderestimating my love for my role-model, “H-Hey, I was just joking, don’tactually-!”“Too late!” I said as I climbed in between his legs that were standingshoulder length apart. “Whoa! If this is to scale, then he must’ve been agiant!”“It’s so obviously not.” Ed facepalmed.“Oi, kid!” An officer called out to me, “Get down from there!”Well, that’s our cue! Come on, Ed! Don’t wanna get arrested on our first day,do we? Ugh, come to think of it, when was the last time we ate? Mystomach’s rumbling quite a bit…Finally, after a couple more hours of touring the entire place, we laid downon a nearby bench to hopefully get some shut-eye. In the end, we never got toeat, but we’ll think about that tomorrow morning. Right now, I gotta catchsome Z’s!